Friday, July 11, 2014

Camp NaNoWriMo

For those of you familiar with NaNoWriMo, you know it usually takes place in November. Participants take on that no small feat of writing a novel...IN A MONTH. They are able to track their progress, get encouragement, and (most importantly) join fellow writers of all kinds and become one with the writing community. Om......

If you're more of a picture book writer, like myself, don't feel left out. Why not still join?

50,000 words just ain't our thing. We take days, weeks, months to get our big little ideas down on paper. We agonize over every word. Pry, squeeze, wrench them out. We rejoice when we get 100-200 of them.

Don't forget that brevity is our friend! Hold your head high. Count every hour of work and revision as 1000 words if you like. Whatever helps get those words down...DO IT. Even if it means pulling an odd trick out of the bag and diving into uncharted territory. Use every tool possible.

Right now, I'm roasting s'mores and sitting around the campfire with fellow campers. Star-gazing. Maybe I'll even work up the courage to tell a story of my own. Care to join?

Hey y'all!

This is how you add 5 inches to your height. Courtesy of the 80s.

Bio (updated!!!)

Stephanie is a Louisiana girl gone gypsy. She loves being a mom, writing children's books, and watching yo-yos in space videos. You can find her here, there, and everywhere. And sometimes nowhere (which is really somewhere). She was last seen in the Pacific Northwest.

Bio (the long version)

Tip: There are many helpful webinars offering great tips for writers. The Children's Book Academy is one of them and they suggested an activity: to write a fun (and very brief) bio. Here is my original and you can see right away that it is way too long. But I'm keeping it as a comparison. See above for the new and (somewhat) improved. Is a writer ever satisfied?!

I was born in Louisiana, where my single working mother (a school librarian) instilled in me a love of reading (and gumbo). My summers were spent in Texas, where my father (a musician) instilled in me a love for Beethoven and Stevie Ray Vaughan.At the age of ten, I moved to Florida and lost my southern accent. The puffed sleeve dresses and sashes were also put away. Oh, the depths of despair! as Anne Shirley would say. But books and music were my refuge, and I soon adapted and made some life-long friends. Kindred spirits.

In college, I studied biology and joined the science club. I fell in love with the Florida Everglades and thought about becoming an Oceanographer or Environmentalist. However, I soon married, started a family, and one day, I woke up barefoot with four children, living in Arkansas. It happens...

I soon fell in love with the natural beauty of Arkansas (click here) and became a children's book writer. I joined the SCBWI, took creative writing and literature courses at UALR, and met some really great people. Kindred spirits, in fact...

Now I live in the Pacific Northwest - a life long dream come true! I attend the University of Washington and hope to complete my degree in Early Chilhood & Family Studies. I love exploring this beautiful part of the country and getting to know some fellow Western Washington writers through my critique group and local WWA-SCBWI events. There are kindred spirits everywhere. One only needs to be brave enough, and open enough, to find them. =)